


Bury the Corpses

by RR_Lanius



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: 500 yen, AU, Abduction, F/M, Murder, Parental Deaths, Street rat Eto, herring, no ghouls, parental neglect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-09
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-06-01 06:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6505687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RR_Lanius/pseuds/RR_Lanius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She has always been a playful soul, and he has always been against her actions. He once thought the girl had changed her ways, but apparently he thought wrong. She has gotten herself in trouble again, and it was once again up to him to get her out. Just like the old days.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bury the Corpses

In front of him was the sight of a picture framed by white flowers of species that he couldn't identify nor cared about. Around him were the condolences of black-attired men and women as they passed him by. Coming out of his mouth were mechanical words of reassurance as he repeatedly claimed to be "fine" in response to the concerns of the funeral's attendees. In his head, there was a soup boiling with the flames of reality and transmitting an aroma made from hope's carcass and despair's spice.

"Maybe God doesn't exist after all." The boy's words were spoken in a volume that could only be classified as a whisper. No one heard him. Not that he wanted anyone to anyway.

His mother died recently. Stolen from him in a bloody and brutal heist, only to be discarded carelessly in the cold winter street of Tokyo and left to the mercy of vultures and worms. It was as if she was worth nothing.

The woman, whose face was frozen in the photograph in a perpetual smile, would no longer be able to smile at him again. Her body, which was concealed within the confines of the wooden casket would no longer be able to comfort him during his time of distress as her limbs had already grown too cold and rigid.

For the first time in a while, he was alone. Alone and unloved. He was now just another parentless child who would eventually end up being the unwanted responsibility of someone else.

He thought that it was unfair that his mother was taken away from him. Just like how a similar thought once decorated the interior of his mind when he was informed that his father had passed away shortly after his birth. It was the feeling that people had when something they have always wanted was taken away from them before they even had the chance to enjoy it. Though he was aware that his resentments wouldn't resurrect the dead. To resurrect the dead, he needed a miracle.

Resentment was hardly known for producing miracles. If it was, his mother wouldn't be dead right now and neither would his father. Instead, he would be living happily with both of his parents alive, with an infinite supply of money so that neither of his parents would have to work and could spend most of their time spoiling and loving him.

Recently, whilst mourning, Kaneki had started to wonder what kind of person his mother's killer was like. The police had proven to be quite useless in satisfying Ken's curiosity in that regard due to the lack of progress in their investigation. But over time, the boy had created a mental profile what he thinks the culprit would look like and accepted it as the truth.

In his mind, his mother's killer was not a skinny man but an overweight one. Not a man of good hygiene but a man of hair so greasy and oily that it stuck to his head, and with a body that reeked of such nauseating stench that a swarm of flies could constantly be seen circling around him. For teeth, the man would have a set of deformed ones, with each of them exhibiting the blackness of decay and a buckteeth that stretched all the way to his chin. The man's hands would forever be coated with a layer of red. It would be the same redness that oozed from within his loving mother when the man made the deciding blow against her tender, timeworn body.

With a hint of condescension in his thoughts, he wondered why it was so hard for the police to catch a single killer. Surely finding someone that peculiar looking wouldn't be as hard as finding a needle in a haystack.

A small droplet of something merged into existence from the corner of his eye, only to be snatched away by a gentle swipe of the boy's fingers. Tears, the boy noted as he inspected the miniature dome of water perched on the side of his index finger.

He was crying. Though he wasn't sure what for.

"We are getting ready to go home soon, Ken."

The one that was calling for him was his aunt—a woman who had offered to both pay for the funeral and adopt the lonesome boy in an act of uncharacteristic kindness.

This version of his aunt wasn't something that Kaneki was used to. In his memory, his aunt was always a thick-skinned, bottom-feeder who constantly showed up at his mother's house to spew tales about her financial woes, all the while dropping thinly-disguised hints for his mother to loan her some money until the kindly woman gives in. But, the aunt that he now sees before him, the woman smiling so kindly at him, portrayed an image that betrayed all of his past memory of her.

It was as if his mother's death had such an effect on his aunt, that she strayed away from her old, troubled ways and decided to live her life anew. If that was the case, then the boy wouldn't be surprised. His mother always had a rather nifty talent to leave life-changing impacts on other people. Regardless of whether or not she intended to do so.

The idea of living without the companionship of his mother was always a subject that caused the boy extreme discomfort. Hence, the reason why it was once a concept that he only entertained on the seldom occasions—like when he was reminded of life's fragility through the losses of other people around him. Now, given his mother's sudden departure, that idea was no longer something that he could just push away with the acknowledgment of his mother's sustained existence. With his mother gone, what used to be just sporadic musings had evolved into something that constantly haunted the boy. Something that often causes the boy to into a state of nervous stupor as unwanted feelings of dread and anxiety overwhelm him.

"Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen! We really need to get going now."

His aunt had once again called for his name, dragging his name out in a singsong manner as she implored him for his cooperation. Her voice was high and grating, sending the boy into a brief moment of inner turmoil as he fought his rising urge to tell the lady to shut up. Ultimately, rationality prevailed.

Sending the photograph of his deceased mother one final look, Kaneki Ken left to join his aunt by her red sedan.

"I can't wait to show you your new home." The woman said as she got in the car. The boy followed suit, but remained silent. He really hated that woman's voice.

* * *

It was that time again. The night of the festival. A time that saw the laughter of adults and children harmonize together to create an ear-pleasing symphony as they ventured through the streets of fancy decorations and enthusiastic street vendors. It was a joyous occasion. Or at least, Ken assumed it was supposed to be. But he himself still remained relatively unenthused as he walked through the night streets in springless strides without the companionship of his foster family, who had deserted him not long ago to pursue their own entertainment.

His foster family's desertion wasn't the thing that had left the boy in a foul mood. Instead, it was the thing that they left behind that caused the boy bitterness— a thing of minimalistic value that took the form of the 500 yen coin that the boy held in the palm of his hands.

500 yen was his budget for the evening. A budget that was too low for the boy's liking, especially when his foster-brother was given way more to spend for accomplishing way fewer things than he did. His cousin was the one to get all perfect marks on the tests that were given to them recently. He was. His cousin wasn't the one to get his essay published in the newspaper. That honor belonged to him as well.

A jarring impact spread throughout the boy's body, knocking him off balance as his butt fell hard against the concrete ground. The thing that he bumped into was anything hard. Rather, it was soft. A collection of muscles and bones just like him. A soft, feminine groan came from the opposing side, letting the boy know that whomever he bumped into was indeed a human. A female or a male with a high-pitched voice was his guess.

"Urgh. Sorry about that, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." A hand was extended towards him. The boy looked up, a girl of hair that reminded of a cabbage, and eyes that reminded of a lustrous gemstone, was staring down at him, a sheepish grin visible on her face. Hanging a good distance above her eyes was a pair of goggles of the steampunk variety, with lenses of contrasting colors. One of green, one of red. One that warned of imminent danger and one that promised everlasting life.

The boy gave the green-haired girl his hand, uttering a quick "Thanks" as he let her pull him up. When the boy returned to a vertical base, he couldn't help but notice how short the girl looked now that he was no longer looking up at her from the ground. If he were to guess the girl's age from her height, he would most like place her around the range of eight or nine.

There was a moment of awkwardness between them as they silently studied each other. With the boy being mesmerized by her cuteness, while the girl strained to find the reason why the boy in front of him looked so familiar. A look of remembrance flashed through the depths of viridian as the answer came to her. The realization was accompanied shortly after by an abrupt demeanor change as the friendly smile that was on the girl's face thinned into a frown, and the look of amiability that the girl once sported was replaced by a look of cautiousness.

The changes did not go by without the boy's notice. "What's wrong." He had asked. The question seemed to have startled the girl, as the smile that she once had quickly resurfaced on her face in a manner that was too quick to be genuine.

"Nothing." The girl would reply as she started to walk past him. But before she left, she tapped him on the shoulders, prompting him to turn to face her as she took the moment to lean towards him, her face now just a centimeter below his head. The proximity between them causing two roses to grown on his cheeks."You have beautiful eyes." The hotness of her breath tickled against his chin as the unexpected compliment spurred the growth of his rosy cheeks.

When he regrouped, the girl was no longer there. Swallowed up by the crowd as she disappeared soundlessly just as she had appeared. His 500 yen also disappeared without a trace.


End file.
